Estonian Refugee Council is now part of the Standby Partnership Network – an international network that brings together UN agencies and humanitarian expert rosters from around the world. In Estonia, we raised donations to purchase generators, fuel, and other essential items for crisis and evacuation centres, so that they can continue their work under extreme conditions. As of today, 24 generators and 16 high-capacity power stations have been delivered, and the work continues. Since 2022, we have supported people affected by the war in Ukraine with cash-based humanitarian assistance worth more than €60 million. In February, an online business training programme in Ukraine concluded, with a total of 278 participants completing the course. This winter season, we supported more than 5,000 vulnerable families in Ukraine with heating assistance. In Estonia, nearly 300 people took part in adaptation trainings. In Armenia, we have trained the members of the community councils, who can soon begin the councils’ core work based on the initiative ideas gathered and chosen by the members.

Estonian Refugee Council has joined the Standby Partnership Network (SPB Network) – an international network that brings together UN agencies and humanitarian expert rosters from around the world. It strengthens the organisation’s international role and enables it to contribute more systematically to responding to global crises.

Last year, a total of 60 people with a refugee background in Estonia took part in group meetings based on the MindSpring method, organised by the Estonian Refugee Council. The meetings, attended by both young people and adults, provided participants with the confidence needed to cope better in a new country.

February marks four years since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, and this winter has been exceptionally difficult for Ukrainians due to intensified Russian attacks and severe weather conditions. The Estonian Refugee Council is organising a winter swimming challenge in support of Ukraine to raise awareness of the extreme conditions people are facing and to collect donations to support those affected.

In the midst of ongoing war and mass displacement, access to mental health support can be a lifeline. Last spring, in collaboration with the Ukrainian National Psychological Association, the Estonian Refugee Council relaunched its mental health support hotline, providing psychological assistance to Ukrainians both in Ukraine and across 20 other European countries. Olha, one of the helpline’s consultants, opens up about her work helping others while confronting the personal challenges brought on by the war.

With the support of donors in Estonia, we raised €30,000 to provide winter heating assistance to families living near the front lines in Ukraine. On 6 December, the Estonian Refugee Council celebrated 25 years of supporting people who have lost their homes and sense of security. Over this time, we have supported more than 470,000 people affected by crises.  In Estonia, more than 300 people participated in adaptation training, and over 330 people took part in community activities in December. In Ukraine, we supported more than 170 families in Dnipropetrovska and Zaporizhzhia oblasts with cash-based livestock livelihoods support.  Since October, nearly 4,290 families in frontline and hard-to-reach areas of Eastern and Southern Ukraine – including Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts – have received winter heating assistance. In Georgia, we provided winter livelihoods support to 515 people who fled Ukraine, helping them cover their basic needs during the colder months.  In Syria, we distributed cash-based humanitarian assistance to 65 people in the Latakia region to help alleviate the consequences of the summer wildfires. 

Young Ukrainians who have fled the war to Estonia want to speak Estonian, but their language learning is often hindered by a lack of practice and fear of making mistakes. To support young people’s language learning, the Estonian Refugee Council has organised more than 60 meetings based on the invisible language learning methodology for young people with a refugee background over the course of the autumn.

At the beginning of December, the Estonian Refugee Council, together with its local partner, the Shchedryk Charitable Foundation, travelled to Novopavlivka – a small village in the Velykooleksandrivska community of Kherson oblast that has been living with war for more than three years.